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Case 2:14-cr-00083-KJM Document 61 Filed 08/27/15 of 10

. 1 BENJAMIN B. WAGNER

United States Attorney 2 MICHAEL D. ANDERSON

MATTHEWM. YELOVICH 3 Assistant United States Attorneys

501 I Street, Suite 10-100 4 Sacramento, CA 95814

Telephone: (916) 554-2700 5 Facsimile: (916) 554-2900

6 Attorneys for Plaintiff

7 United States of America

FILED AUG 2 7 Z015

CLERK U S DISTRICT COURT EASTERN 'DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

~ron~~~ 8V

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Plaintiff,

v.

MIHRAN MELKONYAN, RUSLAN KIRIL YUK, and ALEKSANDR MASLOV,

Defendants.

CASE NO. 2:14-CR-00083 KJM

VIOLATIONS: 18 U.S.C. § 1343- Wire Fraud (24 Counts); 18 U.S.C. § 1341- Mail Fraud (2 Counts); 18 U.S.C. § 1 028A(a)(l ) - Aggravated Identity Theft; 18 U.S.C. § 981(a)(l)(C) and 28 U.S.C. § 2461(c) Criminal Forfeiture

19 COUNTS ONE THROUGH TWENTY-FOUR: [18 U.S.C. § 1343 - Wire Fraud]

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The Grand Jury charges:

24 defendants herein, as follows:

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MIHRAN MELKONY AN, RUSLAN KIRIL YUK, and ALEKSANDR MASLOV,

I. INTRODUCTION

26 At all times relevant to this Superseding Indictment:

27 1. Defendant Mihran Melkonyan was an individual with a primary residence in Sacramento

28 County, California.

SUPERSEDING INDICTMENT 1


1 2. Defendant Ruslan Kirilyuk was an individual with a primary residence in Los Angeles


3 3. Defendant Aleksandr Maslov was an individual with a primary residence in Sacramento


5 4. Person 1, Person 2, and Person 3 were female Russian citizens who traveled to the United

6 States on J1 student visas in or about May 2012 and departed in or about October 2012.

7 5.. Pay Pal, Inc., was a corporation that, among other businesses, provided credit card

8 processing services for merchants.

9 6. American Express, Inc., was a corporation that, among other businesses, issued consumer

10 credit cards and provided credit card processing services for merchants.

11 7. 24 Daily Mart, 24 Quick Stop, AFLGO, Ag Stop Mart, AH Union, Angel Jewelry, App

12 Store, Baby Toy Market, Best Box, Candies Mart, Cell Shop, Center Plus, Chevran, CMUD, Conn Mart,

13 CVS Store, Daily G, Danmart, Depper, Dexby, Dp Way Store, Drobot Beauty, Drobot Drobot, Ecer,

14 Entrix, Everything For Dog, Flowers for You, Fresh Mart, FT Casual, Globed World Jewelry, GMV

15 Market, Great Mart, Health Net, Jack BC, Joy Market, Joys Mart, Kemarket LLC, Krogers, Lenco,

16 Madan Gaming World, Marshall Store, Mats Mart, Max Net, MCB Net, More 4 Less, More Accessories

17 for You, Oasis, One Stop , Ortloff_ Danmart, Quick Start, RD Wireless, RMT Mart, RP Art, Rugs and

18 Carpets, Sepmart, Seven, Shell Power, Shumway Store, Singh Mart, Smartkitchenstuff, Star Points, Stop

19 Shop Market, T And G Store, Tag Box, Ted Mart, Top Net, Vp Mart, Walt Mart, Whole Store, and

20 World of Orthopedic were fictitious business entities created by the defendants and their co-schemers

21 for the purpose of executing the scheme to defraud. In at least some cases, the fictitious business

22 entitites had internet domain names and email addresses associated with them that were used to create

23 the appearance of a legitimate business. These fictitious business entities, however, were created for the

24 purpose of billing stolen credit cards and did not provide actual goods or services.

25 II. SCHEME TO DEFRAUD

26 8. Between on or about October 5, 2011, and continuing through on or about March 5,

27 2014, in the State and Eastern District of California and elsewhere, the defendants, and others known

28 and unknown to the Grand Jury, knowingly devised, participated in, and executed, a material scheme to



1 defraud and to obtain money by means of materially false and fraudulent pretenses, representations and

2 promises, and the concealment of material facts.

3 9. The purpose of the scheme was to obtain money from credit card holders, credit card

4 companies, and third-party credit card payment processors by charging individuals' credit cards without

5 their permission or knowledge for goods and services that were not provided.

6 m. MANNER AND MEANS

7 In furtherance of the fraud, the defendants employed the following manner and means:

8 10. The defendants obtained stolen and misappropriated credit card information for

9 individuals' credit card accounts.

10 11 . The defendants created fictitious business entities, including 24 Daily Mart, 24 Quick

11 Stop, AFLGO, Ag Stop Mart, AH Union, Angel Jewelry, App Store, Baby Toy Market, Best Box,

12 Candies Mart, Cell Shop, Center Plus, Chevran, CMUD, Conn Mart, CVS Store, Daily G, Danmart,

13 Depper, Dexby, Dp Way Store, Drobot Beauty, Drobot Drobot, Ecer, Entrix, Everything For Dog,

14 Flowers for You, Fresh Mart, FT Casual, Global World Jewelry, GMV Market, Great Mart, Health Net,

15 Jack BC, Joy Market, Joys Mart, Kemarket LLC, Krogers, Lenco, Madan Gaming World, Marshall

16 Store, Mats Mart, Max Net, MCB Net, More 4 Less, More Accessories for You, Oasis, One Stop,

17 Ortloff_Danmart, Quick Start, RD Wireless, RMT Mart, RP Art, Rugs and Carpets, Sepmart, Seven,

18 Shell Power, Shumway Store, Singh Mart, Smartkitchenstuff, Star Points, Stop Shop Market, T And G

19 Store, Tag Box, Ted Mart, Top Net, Vp Mart, Walt Mart, Whole Store, and World of Orthopedic. These

20 fictitious business entities did not provide actual goods or services.

21 12. Some of these fictitious business entities were established in the names of unknowing

22 victims. For example, the defendants obtained stolen or misappropriated copies of student transcripts

23 from a Sacramento-area high school and used the students' identities to establish several of the business

24 entities involved in the scheme, such as Candies Mart, RP Art, Drobot Beauty, Drobot Drobot, Ted

25 Mart, Center Plus, GMV Market, CVS Store, Mats Mart, App Store, Cell Shop, Daily G, Top Net, One

26 Stop, 24 Daily Mart, Quick Start, Shell Power, AH Union, Krogers, Conn Mart, Star Points, Tag Box,

27 AG Stop Mart, Stop Shop Market, Great Mart, Marshall Store, Shumway Store, and others.

28 13. Using the fictitious business entity names, the defendants established merchant accounts



1 with credit card providers, such as American Express, Inc., and used the services of a third-party credit

2 card payment processor, such as PayPal, Inc. The defendants also registered internet domain names

3 associated with the fictitious business entities and, to facilitate communication with online service

4 providers, set up email accounts for the businesses with email providers such as Yahoo!, Inc. and

5 America Online.

6 14. The defendants charged the accounts of credit card holders using the merchant accounts

7 and third-party payment processors without the permission or the knowledge of the credit card account

8 holders. Generally, for each business entity controlled by the defendants, the defendants processed a

9 large number of small payments from different credit cards in a relatively short period of time. The

10 credit card providers and third-party credit card payment processors credited the business entities'

11 accounts based on the processed credit card transactions for purported sales.

12 15. It was further part of the scheme and artifice to defraud that the defendants opened and

13 caused to be opened multiple bank accounts in the names of J-1 visa holders and others, including

14 Person 1, Person 2, and Person 3. The defendants accessed and controlled these accounts. These

15 accounts were linked directly to the business entities' bank accounts, to credit card providers, and to

16 third-party credit card payment processors. The defendants transferred money from the business

17 entities' bank accounts to the linked bank accounts in the names of J-1 visa holders and others.

18 16. It was further part of the scheme and artifice to defraud that the defendants withdrew the

19 money from the linked bank accounts in the form of cash from ATMs and by using debit cards that were

20 linked to the accounts. Each of the bank transactions described below generated an intrabank interstate

21 communication.

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IV. USE OF INTERSTATE WIRES

On or about the dates listed below, in the State and Eastern District of California, for the

24 purpose of executing the aforementioned scheme and artifice to defraud, and attempting to do so, the

25 defendants knowingly transmitted and caused to be transmitted by means of wire communication in

26 interstate commerce certain writings, signs, signals, pictures and sounds, as more specifically set forth

27 below:

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Count Date of Wire

1 October 2, 2012

2 October 9, 2012

3 October 10, 2012

4 October 10, 2012

5 October 12, 2012

6 October 15, 2012

7 October 15,2012

8 October 16, 2012

9 October 16, 2012

10 October 17, 2012

11 October 22, 2012

12 October 31,2012

13 November 1, 2012

14 May 8, 2013

15 May 9, 2013

16 May 13,2013

17 May 13,2013

18 May 14,2013

19 May 14,2013

20 May 17,2013

21 May 20,2013

22 May 20,2013

23 May 20,2013

SUPERSEDING.JNDICfMENT

Sender Account - Ending Wire Description

U.S. Bank, N.A. - 0936 $220 ATM Withdrawal

U.S. Bank, N.A. - 0944 $540 Online Transfer

U.S. Bank, N.A.- 0944 $503 ATM Withdrawal

Citibank N.A.- 9732 $120 ATM Withdrawal

Citibank N.A. - 9732 $800 ATM Withdrawal






Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.- 2738 $100 ATM Withdrawal

Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.- 2738 $300 ATM Withdrawal

Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.- 5344 Balance Inquiry

Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. - 5344 $202.25 A TM Withdrawal

Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.- 5344 $202.25 A TM Withdrawal

Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.- 5344 $302.95 ATM Withdrawal



Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.- 5344 Deposit of$9,800 Check into Wells

Fargo Bank, N.A. account ending 5116,

in the name of Ruslan Kirilyuk


Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.- 5344 $302.95 ATM Withdrawal

Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.- 5344 $500 A TM Withdrawal

Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. - 5344 $503 A TM Withdrawal

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24 October 15, 2013 J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. $800 ATM Withdrawal

- 0106 I

4 In violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 2 and 1343.

5 COUNTS TWENTY-FIVE AND TWENTY-SIX: [18 U.S.C. § 1341 - Mail Fraud]

6 The Grand Jury further charges:

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10 defendants herein, as follows:

MIHRAN MELKONYAN, RUSLAN KIRIL YUK, and ALEKSANDR MASLOV,

I. INTRODUCTION 11 18. Paragraphs 1 through 16 of this Superseding Indictment are realleged and incorporated

12 herein, as if fully set forth.

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II. USE OF THE MAILS 14

15 19. On or about the dates listed below, in the State and Eastern District of California, for the

16 purpose of executing the aforementioned scheme and artifice to defraud, and attempting to do so, the

17 defendants knowingly did cause to be delivered by the Postal Service and by any private and

18 commercial interstate carrier, according to the direction thereon, the items more specifically set forth

19 below.

20 Count Date From To Item -Account Ending

21 25 April15, 2013 Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. Person2 Letter- 2738

22 26 May 10, 2013 U.S. Bank, N.A. Person 2 Account statement- 0936

23 In violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 2 and 1341.

24 COUNT TWENTY-SEVEN: [18 U.S.C. § 1028A(a)(1) - Aggravated Identity Theft]

25 The Grand Jury further charges:

26 RUSLAN KIRIL YUK,

27 defendant herein, as follows:

28 20. Paragraphs 1 through 19 of this Superseding Indictment are re-alleged and incorporated

SUPERSEDrNG INDICTMENT 6


1 herein, as if set forth in full.

2 21. On or about October 15, 2013, in the State and Eastern District of California, defendant

3 RUSLAN KIRIL YUK did knowingly use, without lawful authority, a means of identification of another

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9 FORFEITURE ALLEGATION:

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[18 U.S.C. § 981(a)(l)(C) and 28 U.S.C. § 2461(c) -

Criminal Forfeiture]

11 1. Upon conviction of one or more of the offenses alleged in Counts One through Twenty-

12 Seven of this Superseding Indictment, defendants MIHRAN MELKONYAN, RUSLAN KIRIL YUK,

13 and ALEKSANDR MASLOV shall forfeit to the United States of America, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. §

14 981(a)(1)(C) and 28 U.S.C. § 2461(c), all property, real and personal, which constitutes or is derived

15 from proceeds traceable to such violations, including but not limited to the following:

16 a) A sum of money equal to the amount of proceeds traceable to such offenses, for

17 which defendants are convicted.

18 2. If any property subject to forfeiture, as a result of the offenses alleged in Counts One

19 through Twenty-Seven of this Superseding Indictment, for which defendants are convicted:

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a)

b)

c)

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cannot be located upon the exercise of due diligence;

has been transferred or sold to, or deposited with, a third party;

has been placed beyond the jurisdiction of the court;

has been substantially diminished in value; or

has been commingled with other property which cannot be divided without

difficulty;

26 it is the intent of the United States, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2461(c), incorporating 21 U.S.C. § 853(p), to

27 seek forfeiture of any other property of said defendants, up to the value of the property subject to

28 forfeiture.



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2 A TRUEBILL.

3 /s/ Signature on file w/AUSA

4 FOREPERSON

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No.

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

Eastern District of California

Criminal Division

VIOLATION(S): 18 U.S.C. § 1343 - Wire Fraud; 18 U.S.C. § 1341- Mail Fraud; 18 U.S.C. § 1028A(a)(l) - Aggravated Identity Theft;

18 U.S.C. § 981(a)(l)(C) and 28 U.S.C. § 246l(c) -Criminal Forfeiture

A tn1e bill, /s/ Signature on file wii~\i~r.

Foreman.

Filed in open court this _____ 2_L _____ day

of --~-_.A.D.2o~£-

GPO 863 525


United States v. Mihran Melkonyan, Ruslan Kirilyuk, and Aleksandr Maslov Penalties for Superseding Indictment

Defendants MIHRAN MELKONYAN, RUSLAN KIRIL YUK, and ALEKSANDR MASLOV

COUNTS 1-24:

VIOLATION:

PENALTIES:

ALL DEFENDANTS

18 U.S.C. § 1343 - Wire Fraud

Not more than $250,000 fine, or Not more than 20 years' imprisonment, or both; Not more than 3 years supervised release.

SPECIAL ASSESSMENT: $100 (mandatory on each count)

COUNTS 25-26: ALL DEFENDANTS

VIOLATION: 18 U.S.C. § 1341 - Mail Fraud

PENALTIES: Not more than $250,000 fine, or Not more than 20 years' imprisonment, or both; Not more than 3 years supervised release.

SPECIAL ASSESSMENT: $100 (mandatory on each count)

COUNT27:

VIOLATION:

PENALTIES:

RUSLAN KIRIL YUK

18 U.S. C.§ 1028A(a)(l) - Aggravated Identity Theft

2 years in prison, consecutive to any other sentence except any additional sentence imposed at the same time under § 1 028A

FORFEITURE ALLEGATION: ALL DEFENDANTS

As stated in the charging document

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